Rocketman

02.04.13

Ahmadinejad Wants to Go to Space

ATTA KENARE / Getty Images

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants everyone to know he has the utmost confidence in his country’s space program. A week after sending a monkey into space—or photographing two different monkeys strapped into launch pods, as some claim—the provocative president announced that he is “ready to be the first human to be sent to space by Iranian scientists.” Ahmadinejad is known for making colorful public statements, so it’s unclear how serious he is, but he has fallen out with Parliament and will be looking for a new job come June. Iran’s space program, of course, is widely seen as cover for developing ballistic missiles with nuclear capability.